


Poison Partners

by Swishroll



Category: Dragalia Lost (Video Game)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, I promise there’s no romance with lathna, fatherly curran and heinwald, lathna is an uwu, their kits work together so why not
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-13
Updated: 2019-11-13
Packaged: 2021-01-29 23:42:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21418633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swishroll/pseuds/Swishroll
Summary: Delphi didn’t know how to talk to the new girl. But what started as a common interest soon blossomed into an unlikely friendship.
Kudos: 33





	Poison Partners

Delphi didn’t know what to make of the new girl.  
  
The week Lathna arrived in the Halidom, she spent almost all of her waking hours in her room, coming out just for lunch and dinner. Even so, she hides behind Curran, gripping his sleeve like it was her lifeline. When she spoke, it was always in soft tones, a glint of fear and curiosity in her violet eyes as she looked down and laced her fingers over and over, never once making eye contact. She was definitely traumatised, but her shyness somehow reminded him of his younger brother. It was almost endearing.  
  
Delphi knew he was weird, like many of the Halidom residents around him. The cheery, outgoing nature of the prince definitely helped bring all of them together, but at times there was always this awkward silence between two members, them not knowing what to say to each other as they battled fiends or just went shopping for supplies. Since Delphi arrived, he always had been sent to solo missions or partnered with the sorceress Cassandra, who treated him like a student, teaching him about different kinds of spells and magic potions every time they were sent out together. Obviously, he didn’t mind that. It was good to learn something new every now and then, especially from such a powerful sorceress. There wasn’t really any awkwardness around them, since Cassie did all the talking.  
  
But then, these good old days of atonement and solitary came to an end.

‘Hey Delphi,’ the prince came up to him one bright morning. ‘Do you mind taking care of Lathna this afternoon? Both Curran and Heinwald are out on a mission and I would really like her to open up a little and meet new people.’  
  
Euden didn’t say it, but Delphi understood his hidden meaning. _I want you to open up as well._  
  
‘Lathna? Don’t know if I could talk to her. Might you find someone else?’  
  
‘I would if you really insist, but I think Lathna would get along with you quite well.’  
  
‘Is that so? Well then, leave her to me if you must. I will do what I can.’ Delphi said, changing his mind.

Euden’s face lit up in response. ‘That’s great! Thanks for your help!’  
  
———————————————————————————————————

Even after singlehandedly raising his kid brother, Delphi didn’t know how to talk to the girl.  
  
She had greeted him politely, commented that his hair was unkempt to Delphi’s annoyance, then proceeded to play with her cat Ulthar. They played rather quietly, except for Lathna’s occasional giggles and Ulthar’s meows of pleasure.  
  
Suddenly, something seemed to have caught Lathna’s eye. She left the meowing Ulthar on the floor and walked up to Delphi, a sparkle in her eyes.  
  
‘Delphi, may I ask you something?’  
  
‘Question? You may.’  
  
Lathna pointed at one of the many books at his bedside table, her eyes lighting up. ‘Is that a book about poisons? I think I recognise it.’  
  
‘This book? It is about poisons. I sometimes combine the poisons from this book to use in battle. Do you want to read it?’  
  
‘No, no! I’ve read it like three times before, and even tried to make one of the poisons in the book, but it didn’t work.’ Lathna sighed, sitting on Delphi’s bed.  
  
‘Poison? Which one?’  
  
Lathna carefully flipped the pages till she reached a worn out one full of notes. ‘Um, this one. _ Bo-let-us ven-en-um glo-mer-o-rum _ . I made it according to the instructions but when I tried it on a fiend, it didn’t seem to work as the book said it will.’  
  
Delphi studied the poison recipe intently. The poison was not a difficult one, apparently only requiring 3 types of shroom spores that Lathna insisted that she had put the correct amount while making it. Just as Delphi was about to give up on finding out what Lathna did wrong, he did a double take on one of the handwritten notes scrawled at the very edge of the paper.  
  
_ ‘For a much more significant effect, mix in a piece of Eyeshroom spore when the poison turns golden yellow.’ _  
  
The Eyeshroom! That’s it! Of course it would be the key to making the shroom poison stronger. One spore extracted for the shroom is so deadly that it could kill a hundred fiends, but surprisingly, the spores were relatively harmless to humans, save for leaving burns on contact. Delphi relayed the information to Lathna, who started grinning like a madman.  
  
‘Take me to it! Let me kill it! Please, Delphi, please?’ Lathna begged.  
  
‘I can take you to the place where Eyeshroom are often found. However, rare they may be, so I guarantee not you will find one. Kill an Eyeshroom? Need a single strong blow, lest they run away.’  
  
‘I don’t care! I know how to use a lance, and I’ve been secretly training with throwing knives in my room when Curran thinks I’m sleeping.’ Lathna suddenly clamped her hand on her mouth. ‘Ah! Don’t tell Curran I do that. Please?’  
  
Delphi smiled. ‘Worry not. Secret? Safe with me. Now, shall we head off? Our journey would be quite perilous for a young girl like you.’  
  
‘I’m not scared of ordinary fiends anymore! I’ll go with you!’  
  
————————————————————————————————————

By the time they reached their destination in the middle of a muddy, dark forest, Delphi noticed that Lathna was trembling.  
  
‘Lathna? Are you well?’  
  
‘I’m fi-fine. I just di-didn’t realise that it w-would be so da-dark. Br-brings back some b-bad memories.’ Lathna shuddered.  
  
‘Feeling unwell? We could turn back. Or do you want to stay?’  
  
Lathna put on a brave face. ‘I’ll stay. I need to conquer my fears in order to grow bet—‘  
  
Sensing a rustle behind the trees, Delphi clamped his hand over the girl’s mouth. ‘Shh. Hear that? Eyeshroom it is. We must be quiet.’  
  
‘Got it,’ Lathna whispered back.  
  
Delphi’s eyes focused on the Eyeshroom. It was wobbling on its feet, grabbing nearby flowers and stuffing them inside its cap without a care in this world. _ Cute it is, _ Delphi thought. _ Surprised I am at the fact that never I had ever seen an Eyeshroom up close. _ _  
_  
Suddenly, a _ whoosh _ sounded beside him, followed by a _ splat _ . When he turned around to look, Lathna was already grinning from ear to ear, pointing at the limp Eyeshroom corpse that’s slowly dissipating and a midnight dagger protruding from its cap.  
  
‘I did it, Delphi! Did you see me? My dagger hit the Eyeshroom perfectly!’ Lathna whooped, holding her palm out for a high-five.  
  
Delphi high-fived the excited girl, smiling along with her. ‘I know not you were so proficient with throwing knives. Care to teach me one day?’  
  
Lathna laughed. It was a beautiful, bubbly sound, full of life and joy, one that she deserved to have a long time ago. ‘I, teach you? You’re joking right? No way am I fit to teach you how to use a dagger of all weapons. If anything, you should teach me first.’  
  
Delphi smiled. ‘Perhaps you’re right. We shall collect the spores quickly, for fear they might fade into the earth. Be careful, poison they do contain.’  
  
Lathna bounced off into the sunset, collecting the dead shroom’s spores as she skips merrily across the darkening forest.  
  
————————————————————————————————————

‘Heinwald, Lathna is missing.’ A deep male voice hissed.  
  
‘Hmm? Oh Curran, it’s you. What were you trying to say again?’  
  
The detective, half asleep while reading the newspaper, slowly sat up and faced his partner.  
  
‘Heinwald,’ Curran tried again. ‘Lathna is missing.’  
  
‘Really? Did the prince not say to you that she went out with Delphi to do something? I’m sure she’ll be alright.` Heinwald yawned, then proceeded to read his newspaper.  
  
‘You’re seriously not worried? It’s after sunset already! I barely know Delphi—do you even trust him to bring Lathna home safely?’ urged Curran.  
  
‘All I know that Lathna is not the scared little girl we met in Hethiwood. If you don’t coddle her day and night, you would have noticed that she’d grown a lot recently. She is perfectly capable of defending herself if needed, especially now that she can control Nyarlathotep’s powers.’

Curran looked at Heinwald worriedly, but the other man just shrugged and turned his back to him, muttering ‘she’ll be fine’ over and over again. As if that’ll help reassure him.

‘If she’s not back by dinner, I’ll head out and—’

‘Curran, I’m back!’ A cheerful Lathna, covered in mud, skipped over to her unofficial caretaker and hugged him with one arm, carefully balancing the basket that she had with the other.

‘Lathna!’ Curran looked accusedly at the equally muddy Delphi. ‘What happened? What did you do to her?’

Delphi shrugged. ‘Things I did? Nothing. She chose to go to the forest herself. I just led the way.’

Curran sighed. ‘It’s fine, whatever. At least she’s back safely.’ He turns to face Lathna once more. ‘Come on. You’ll have to take a bath immediately.’

‘Ok! Just wait for a moment. I have to put something back into my room first.’ Lathna said cheekily.

The violet-eyed girl headed back to her room, humming to herself contentedly. Curran wondered just how much had he missed when he was away in this short afternoon.

———————————_ Possibly two to three months time skip _——————————

_Something is different about Lathna, _ Heinwald thought to himself.

Firstly, the girl seems to be spending a lot more time with Delphi, much to his partner’s discontent. With her running off to Delphi’s room the moment after they’d finished breakfast to do who-knows-what, Curran barely had any time left to coddle her, except before she slept.

Lathna also seemed to be getting injured much more these days. Often she’ll approach him with various burns ranging from small splotches to ones that leave her arms covered in healing bandages for an entire week, which made Curran fuss over her even more than usual. He wondered about how did she get those, but since Lathna’s eyes were bright and a genuine, excited smile was on her face even when her injuries looked seriously painful, he concluded that Lathna didn’t need help for the time being. The girl does showcase her emotions quite openly after all.

The detective was deep in thought when suddenly a red-faced Curran burst out of Delphi’s room, dragging said young man roughly by the ear. Lathna was limping after the two, her arms and legs covered in cuts and bruises, yelling at Curran to stop.

‘Why, may I ask, is Lathna injured again?’ Curran shouted.

‘Injuries? Sparring. My fault and mine alone.’ Delphi said sheepishly, his head low. He too had some cuts on his skin, and part of his clothing was pierced and shredded. Heinwald felt a sudden pride for Lathna. Her fighting skills were getting better by the day.

Curran gripped Delphi’s ear harder, causing the latter to let out a small yelp.

‘No, stop hurting Delphi! If you want to blame someone, it’s all me. I’m the one who asked for a spar. I told him to give it his all! I also asked him to teach me how to make poisons so that I could fight better with my limited abilities. I did all this just to improve myself, so I can prove to you, Curran, that I’m not a weak little girl that needs protection all day long!’

‘Lathna, I—’

‘I’ve been waiting for a fiend fighting mission for so long, but I never got one, even when the other kids my age got sent on missions countless times! I knew you were behind it somehow, especially after that time when Euden almost gave me a mission, but then you talked to him about something and he changed his mind!’

‘You’ve been hurt so many times in your life, I just want to—-’

‘I want to see the world, Curran, with my own two eyes. Reading the many books in the castle library had helped me understand a little, but I really want to go out and see things for myself. I’m not that scared little girl from Hethiwood anymore. I’ve grown, and I’m almost an adult now! I could fight like the other kids and solve things by myself! _ Why can’t you just let me go? _’

By the time Lathna finished yelling, tears were welling up in her eyes. Shocked, Curran stood there, not moving a muscle and unable to respond. Heinwald noticed that tears were threatening to fall from his partner’s eyes, and gave him a small, reassuring smile.

_Let her go. _ Heinwald mouthed. _ You won’t regret it. _

Curran gave Heinwald an imperceptible nod, then looked at Lathna with the smile of a proud father.

‘I’m so sorry, Lathna. I never really asked about how you felt about all this. I was constantly worried about you getting hurt. You were cooped up in the Halidom because of my over-protectiveness, but turns out you want nothing more than to explore the world. Forgive me for being so wrapped up in my own feelings and ignoring yours.’ Curran apologised, rubbing his hand across his brow.

‘So you’ll let Euden send me on a mission? Pretty please? It doesn’t have to be fiend hunting; it can be shopping for supplies or something less dangerous.’ Lathna pleaded, her puppy-dog eyes becoming wider.

‘If that’s the case…Unfortunately, it’s our turn to do the chores in the Halidom this week, so I’m afraid we can’t go with you today.’ Curran turned to Delphi and sighed. ‘I’ll leave Lathna to you. I trust that you’ll be able to protect her.’

Delphi nodded. ‘Of course. Never have you ever seen the full extent of my powers. I assure you, safe she shall remain.’

Curran smiled, finally relaxing. ‘Well then, Lathna, be careful. I’ll be waiting.’

Lathna flashed him a brilliant smile. ‘I’m just going out for a bit; you don’t have to miss me!’

As her footsteps echo down the hallway, Curran turned around, a wistful expression on his face.

‘It’s the reverse, isn’t it, Heinwald? It used to be Lathna sending us off, but this time we’re the ones remaining in the Halidom and she’s the one heading off to the world.’ Curran said.

‘Oh, Curran, don’t be so gloomy. It’s not like she’s leaving us for good. Besides, we have a whole mountain of chores to do; she’ll be back before we know it. Well then, shall we start by doing the laundry?’

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed the fic. I’m kinda new to this, so feel free to leave a comment so I could improve in future writings. Have a nice day :D


End file.
